Get into the industry sooner with a two-year degree from the International College of Musical Theatre

At the International College of Musical Theatre, being a successful triple threat is not just about the West End. With campuses in London, Rome, Belfast and New York, the ICMT is on a mission to make musical theatre training accessible to everyone regardless of background or location.

The college is constantly updating and evolving its offering to students and has recently created two new courses with accessibility in mind. The two-year accelerated BA (Hons) Degree in Musical Theatre Performance, in collaboration with Coventry University, takes all the rigorous training of a traditional three-year programme and condenses it into a shorter period, while the EU Bespoke Course provides a training option for European citizens who are no longer able to work in the UK since Brexit.

The two-year degree in Musical Theatre Performance, explains ICMT’s principal and co-founder Kenneth Avery-Clark, was designed to save students time and money, while still offering access to top-tier training.

“If you were on a three-year degree there’s a lot of time when you’re not studying,” he says. “The two-year course takes a lot of the self-study and long holiday periods and puts it back into training. This means saving approximately £10,000 alone on that third year of living expenses. The degree makes the best use of your time and finances.”

‘You’re going into a practical industry. You don’t learn to be a chef in a classroom, you learn in a kitchen’

Avery-Clark stresses that the two-year course has the same amount of teaching and contact time as a three-year course. It was developed after extensive research by ICMT, in consultation with students and practitioners. She adds: “95% of students (who took a three-year degree course) said they would have preferred to do their training in two years to get into the industry sooner.”

Just like all the programmes at ICMT, students are taught by current industry professionals who have the most up-to-date knowledge and experience within the industry, and the focus of the course is on practical elements.

“It’s completely practical training,” says Avery-Clark, “which makes us different from traditional university courses. There’s little written work, because, ultimately, you’re going into a practical industry. You don’t learn to be a chef in a classroom, you learn in a kitchen. Equally, if you’re going to be a performer you have to learn to perform.”

The two-year degree programme allows students to hit the ground running and keeps them at a peak of performance ability. “Normally we take nearly a month off at Christmas and it’s a hard slog for students to get back into body conditioning and dance classes following the break. On the two-year course you don’t have the peaks and troughs of slowing down and then having to speed back up again. You maintain a peak of physical fitness throughout.”

One of the things that sets ICMT apart from other training institutions is its family feel. When students graduate, they remain part of the ICMT family. They are encouraged to keep in touch and to come back and use the facilities. “People who graduate from the ICMT don’t just get set loose into what can be the scary world of showbusiness. We make sure they are mentored and feel like they can always touch base with us if they need some extra support.”